No One Else
by Vialana
Summary: Kai/Wyatt :: After the events with the Psykics, Kai visits his friend in the hospital. Is it possible that there's more than friendship that draws him to Wyatt?
1. Facing Up

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own the series Beyblade or any of its characters featured in this fan fiction. **

_Hmm, I'm now beginning on one of my new favourite pairings … one of many favourite parings if you've read my bio. But seriously, don't you think that Kai/Wyatt is just so adorable? I could give you my reasons for thinking so, but that'd take too long._

_Erm, this takes place after episode 27 of V-Force, I haven't seen much more after that. But if you haven't seen up to there and don't want spoilers don't read on. I'll try to mention as little as possible, but that may be a bit hard._

_Anyways, um, no major warnings except yaoi, spoilers and possible swearing, though I'll try to avoid it, oh an Kai might seem a bit … or a lot OOC at times, but he's so different in V-Force, especially when it concerns Wyatt, so I'm thinking it's not that bad. No other major pairings because I'm focused just on Kai and Wyatt._

_Enjoy._

Dedication: To Shade 25, who gave me the idea for writing this fic.

**No One Else**

"We so need to celebrate this guys!"

            Crimson eyes glanced over at the enthused four nearby then looked away again, focusing on something distant. Kai was not concerned with celebrating their victory over the Psykics. Sure it was great, but he had other things on his mind besides what sort of topping to get on his pizza.

            "Kai? You going to join us?"

            Kai looked over at Tyson to see him looking at him expectantly. He noticed that the others were too. He shrugged, he didn't want to disappoint them and he knew that if he refused he'd be doing just that.

            "Only for a bit, I can't stay to eat though."

            Still, even with this concession Tyson looked a bit down. "Sure, I guess that's cool. Let's just head over to the dojo."

            They had gone back to the main BBA office after the battle and Tyson had wasted no time in calling up the pizza place to tell them to deliver to his house. Max and Kenny were setting things up with him while Hilary was yelling orders at them, which they ignored, and Rei just looked on amusedly.

            However, as they were walking, Kai felt a set of eyes on him. He looked over to see the raven-haired blader watching him carefully.

            "You disappointed I couldn't stay either?" Kai asked quietly. The other four ahead didn't hear anything, still being caught up in the elation of winning.

            "You've probably got somewhere important to be. Besides, you'll be back, you're staying with us after all."

            Kai chuckled. "Tyson seems to have forgotten that."

            "Tyson forgets a lot of things." Rei smiled, but it soon faded as he saw the serious look on Kai's face. "You're not glad for our win?"

            "Of course I am."

            "But you're acting like you did before, back when you didn't care about us."

            That hurt a bit, but Kai held it inside. "I've just got some things on my mind," he told Rei in a serious voice. "And we really can't afford to slacken off too much, we've still got Ozuma and the others to worry about. When have our lives ever not been filled with some sort of complication?"

            Rei nodded. "I guess you're right, but don't you think you could loosen up a bit for one night?"

            "I'm trying."

            Rei sighed and nodded. "I know." _And I know what you're not saying. I guess it's still hard for you to admit you care about someone other than yourself, isn't it Kai?_

*           *           *

Kai sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. He'd been here an hour already, couldn't he leave yet. He looked over to see Rei watching him again. He looked back away. Rei sighed and came over.

            "I know you've got somewhere important to be Kai." Kai stared at him and he grinned. "Don't worry, I'll cover for you. I doubt that these guys will be finished soon anyway. You won't miss out on the end of the party."

            Kai managed a small smile. "Thanks Rei."

            "No problem. Give Wyatt my regards."

            Kai stumbled slightly and glanced back to see Rei smirking at him. _Guess I was a bit obvious. "I will." He looked around to see if anyone else saw him leave but they were all occupied by something in the garden. Presumably Tyson had made a fool of himself once again. Kai figured as much from Hilary's yelling and Max's loud laughter._

            It was getting darker, but Kai continued on to the hospital. Luckily in the main wards visiting hours were over at nine, so he would have over two hours with Wyatt. That is, if he wanted him there.

            Kai stopped suddenly with that thought. What if Wyatt didn't want him there? Would he blame Kai for not helping him in time, for not accepting him at first and not letting him train with him? Should he even go?

            It was that last thought that made Kai shake his head and start out determinedly again. Since when did he ever doubt himself?

            He walked for about fifteen minutes more before he arrived at one of the gates to the hospital complex. He went up to the main building and asked after Wyatt. The answer stunned him a little.

            The psychiatric ward.

            The receptionist assured him that he was in the recovery section, but his trauma was rather great when he first arrived, he'd needed constant treatment before he could even have gotten so far with his recovery. Kai nodded and headed off to the building housing the psychiatric patients.

            It was completely dark now, he'd have to catch a taxi back to Tyson's place now, or a bus, if there was one. No, a taxi sounded a bit safer. Not that he was scared or anything, it was just he wasn't stupid enough to walk the streets at night. He made his way to the main desk for the wad and was given Wyatt's room number.

            He stood outside the door taking a deep breath. Why was he so nervous about seeing Wyatt? Kai shook his head at his foolishness and knocked.

            "Come in," the tired voice called out.

            Kai opened the door cautiously and looked in to see Wyatt sitting in the single hospital bed with two boys sitting in chairs to either side. Kai recognized them from school. Wyatt's expression brightened considerably when he saw Kai.

            "Hey Kai, come in."

            Kai nodded and closed the door behind him. He nodded to the two boys and stared carefully at Wyatt. "How are you?"

            "Better than before." Wyatt laughed softly. "But I guess anything's better than that." He hesitated slightly before asking, "Did you … I mean … the Psykics, are they …" He shuddered and trailed of, looking away.

            Kai looked away as well. "Gone. It won't ever happen again."

            Wyatt sighed in relief. "Good." He quickly changed the subject. "So, I've been told I can go back to school next week."

            "Hey that's cool," one of the boys said, finally glad to be able to get back into a conversation he understood. "We really missed you back there, bey battles aren't as fun without you Wyatt."

            "Totally," the other boy agreed. "Larry's been all over everyone since you've been gone, but once you're back you can teach him a thing or two."

            Wyatt looked pained. "I don't really know. I don't think I will be able to battle for a while." Wyatt grinned, lying through his teeth. Kai was the only one who seemed to know the truth behind his injuries and he looked away guiltily. "But maybe sometime down the road."

            "Yeah, that'd be cool." One of the boys looked at his watch. "Hey, we better get back to the dorm. Curfew's almost up and I don't think they'll keep buying the excuse that we were late coming to see you."

            Wyatt looked at them slyly. "Using me as an excuse to go out for a night on the town, aren't you?"

            One boy laughed while the other whistled innocently. "Two birds with one stone, man. We'll see you around Wyatt."

            "Yeah, later."

            "Bye." Wyatt smiled as the door closed behind the two then looked over at the other person in the room. Kai looked back almost nervously. "You look like I'm about to bite your head off."

            "Well that's sort of how I feel." Kai sighed. "I'm sorry Wyatt, I never meant for you to get involved and I especially didn't mean for you to get hurt in any way." He sat down in one of the seats left unoccupied by the other boys

            "Hey," Wyatt grinned weakly, his brown eyes sparkling with warmth. "You didn't do anything wrong. It was presumptuous of me to think you'd want to train with me, or even have the time to waste on me."

            Kai shook his head. "No, it wasn't presumptuous, I was just being an ass, as usual." He sighed. "I guess that some habits are hard to break."

            "Yeah, I heard how you're kind of cold, not that I haven't experienced it first hand." He laughed weakly, but stopped seeing the guilty look on Kai's face. "Kai? Why are you acting like this?"

            Kai looked up at him and his words froze in his mouth. Sitting there in the bed, Wyatt looked so weak and vulnerable, there were dark marks under his eyes, making him look even more drained than he was. He was shaking slightly and looked like he could break at any moment. This is what he had done to him with his refusals. Kai had done this to him.

            Kai shook his head. "God, I'm so sorry," he whispered brokenly, lowering his head in to his hands and running his fingers through his slate-grey locks. "I didn't want to hurt you, I just thought that you'd get in the way, I didn't realise what would happen, I didn't realise how much I had actually changed from before. When I saw you like that, you'd battled because I refused and what happened to you after …" Kai started to shake and he lifted his head. "This is all my fault and I'll do anything to make it up to you."

            Wyatt looked stunned by Kai's words. "I never realised how strongly you felt about this. But Kai, I was the one to pick up the blade and accept the offer, you had nothing to do with that."

            "Tell me honestly, if you weren't so ticked off with me would you have really considered that offer?" Wyatt hesitated and Kai looked away. "See."

            "No, Kai, I refuse to let you think this is your fault."

            "Too late. I'll do anything in my power to make things right for you." Wyatt was about to protest but Kai cut him off with an intense stare. "I promise Wyatt, I'll do anything."

            Wyatt sighed and nodded. "It's not necessary, but thank you." He looked back with a smile. "So tell me about the victory. I deserve to gloat somewhat at the downfall of the company that put me in the hospital in the first place with their evil schemes."

            Kai smiled and chuckled under his breath. "It's amazing how upbeat you are considering everything."

            Watt's face suddenly lost its colour and he looked away. "Some days are better than others. It's easier to pretend. Everyone else seems happier and I feel better when they are."

            Kai was silent for a long time. "You know masks won't help your recovery. You can't pretend to be happy if you're not. You'll just end up back here."

            Wyatt didn't say anything. "Maybe that's something you can help me with if you want." He smiled hesitantly. "I need someone to talk to sometimes about this and you're the only one who knows and seems to understand."

            "Evil bit-beats controlling your mind, yeah, I've been there." Kai shuddered slightly remembering. "Those sort of things tend to stay with you."

            "I'll bet." Wyatt sighed and leaned back a bit into his bed. "I'm healthy enough to leave, but they just want me to stay here until the week is up just in case. I guess I feel fine, but sometimes it hurts." Wyatt looked down in surprise as Kai's pale, gloved hand enfolded his.

            "I meant what I said," Kai assured him passionately. "I'll do anything to help you."

            "Out of guilt?"

            Kai shook his head. "Out of friendship." He flushed slightly. "You were the only person who even bothered with me at that school. It takes a lot to earn my trust, something I'm not particularly proud of, but only a few people had managed to do it before." He smiled. "You're almost as persistent as Tyson, though admittedly easier to be around."

            Wyatt laughed. "Your friends sound like fun people to be around."

            Kai hesitated then smiled. "Yeah, I guess they are. Maybe you'd like to hang around with us once you get out of here. I know the guys were worried about you too. Tyson wants to know what you did to me I think, earning my friendship so quickly. It took him and the others almost a year and I put them through hell to earn it."

            "You really think of me as a friend?" Wyatt looked stunned at the revelation. Kai nodded and he smiled gratefully. "Thank you, I'm glad."

            "Me too." Kai suddenly cleared his throat and moved back a bit, the conversation getting too intense and personal for his liking. Wyatt grinned at the reaction but said nothing as Kai changed the subject to the battle he and the others had just fought.

*           *           *

_AN: This was supposed to be a one-shot, but it got too long for that. Anything over 6500 words has to be cut up if possible … I'm weird like that._

_Anyways, the next part should be out soon considering I've basically got this whole thing almost completely written out._

_Well, hope you enjoyed this so far._

_Until next time._


	2. Moving On

_I'm back! This was supposed to be up yesterday … darn school and my exams. On a more positive note though, I've only got one exam left so I have more time for my fics! Yay! I'm glad so many people are enjoying this, especially considering this was originally going to just be a short one shot … but things change and this is at least going to be five chapters long._

_Enough blabbing, my mouth runs away with me sometimes. Enjoy the chapter!_

Tyson yawned and looked at the clock again, frowning. He looked around and spotted Rei by the garden talking with Max. "Hey, have you guys seen Kai?" he asked, approaching them.

            Max looked around with a frown and shook his head. "No, I haven't, not for a while."

            Rei looked a bit uneasy. "He had something to take care of." Tyson looked a bit upset at this but shrugged. "He did mention that before Tyson. Besides, he should be back soon."

            "How do you know?"

            Rei looked at the clock. It was almost twenty past nine. "Just a hunch," he said with a hint of a smile.

            In fact, it was at precisely that moment that Kai walked into the room.

            "Kai." Tyson walked over to him. "Where did you disappear to? And …" he gasped. "Are you actually smiling?" Max came rushing over at this to see the unusual phenomenon. Rei laughed out loud at the two of them and Kai stared at them strangely.

            "You'd think they'd never seen me smile before."

            "Well it is a rather rare occurrence," Rei teased. But then he smirked at Kai. "So, how was your visit with Wyatt?"

            Kai cleared his throat and Rei stared as he noticed a faint flush to Kai's painted cheeks. "Fine. He's doing better than the last time I saw him."

            "You went and saw Wyatt?" Tyson frowned. "Why didn't you just say that? We could have all gone to see how he was."

            "Tyson!" They turned around to see Hilary and Kenny coming into the room. She was staring at him exasperatedly. "Can't you see that Kai probably wanted to go see Wyatt on his own first?"

            Tyson glared at her. "Well he still should have mentioned it to us."

            "He's not a baby Tyson, he can do what he wants without asking your permission."

            "I never said that, I just thought it would be courteous. I mean what did he have to hide? We all know how he feels about Wyatt."

            Kai, who had just poured himself a drink, intending to enjoy the drama going on before him, suddenly choked on the bubbly drink and started coughing rather loudly, looking a bit red around the cheeks.

            Tyson looked over at him in worry. "Kai, are you all right?"

            "Fine," Kai assured him with a final cough. "I think I'll stick with water though. Excuse me." He placed his cup down on the table and moved towards the bathroom, glaring at the drops of sticky orange soda that had slopped onto his gloves and hand when he started coughing.

            Tyson shrugged and looked over at Hilary and sighed, not really caring enough to continue the argument. He walked over to talk with Kenny and Hilary soon followed while Max and Rei glanced at each other, both with slightly stunned yet amused expressions on their faces.

            "You saw it too, didn't you?" Max asked.

            "I had my suspicions before." Rei looked very sly. "Have you known Kai to care that much about anyone before?"

            "Nope."

            Rei grinned evilly. "Well then, don't we have an interesting situation on our hands?"

            Max mirrored the look. "Indeed we do."

*           *           *

In the bathroom, completely unaware of what was going on outside with his diabolically minded teammates, Kai mentally cursed Tyson and his innocently accurate assessment of the situation.

            _Why did he have to say something like that? He muttered internally, frantically scrubbing at his gloves, glaring at the slight stain the coloured bubbly liquid made. __Though, he couldn't have meant it as it sounded … right? Tyson's not that perceptive, is he? Kai stopped scrubbing and stared into the mirror facing him. _Maybe he is, or maybe I'm being obvious._ He shook his head angrily and turned off the water. __Obvious about what? There's nothing to be obvious about. Wyatt's my friend, I do care for him, but there's no possible way that anything remotely what I'm considering to be true right?_

_            So why am I considering it if the slightest possibility that it could be true is non-existent?_

            Kai shook his head again and stripped off his other glove, it looked strange for him to just wear one, and he walked out of the bathroom, intending to put the gloves away with his belongings.

            He was stopped on the way there by Rei and Max. He took one look at their expressions and gulped.

            "Kai," Rei intoned sweetly, "do you think we could talk?"

            "I have nothing to talk about, now if you'll excuse me, I should put these away." Kai tried to move away, but Max blocked the hallway. Kai glared at him, but for some reason the look had no effect on the blond boy. _Damn, I must be loosing my touch._

            "Oh, I think you do," Max argued.

            Kai sighed. "What do you think I have to talk about then?"

            "Wyatt," Rei said simply."

            "Wyatt?" _Damn, they noticed my slip-up. Kai just raised an eyebrow, not giving them a hint of his real thoughts, instead staring at them disbelievingly. "You came to ask about Wyatt?"_

            "And you of course." Max had that look in his eye that said he was going to get what he wanted one way or the other. "Don't try and worm out of this Kai, we know you care about him."

            "And you know we're not just talking totally platonic," Rei added.

            "If we were, you wouldn't be acting so jittery whenever he was mentioned."

            "And then there was that smile …" Rei looked slyly at him. "You spent over two hours with him."

            Kai sighed. "He was in the hospital, I hadn't seen him since we brought him in. I felt guilty and he is my friend. I'd do the same for any of you if you were in the hospital."

            "Two hours in the same room, alone with either me or Tyson?" Max laughed disbelievingly. "I very much doubt that. I don't think you could even last an hour just alone with Rei."

            Kai was about to protest then shut his mouth. It was probably true. He would go and visit them of course, but actually staying there alone in their rooms with no one else to talk to? He glared at the two of them. "Maybe I just prefer his company more."

            Rei pouted mockingly and put a hand to his chest. "Oh, that hurt. Come on Kai, admit it, there's something special about him. How long have you seriously known him? A few months at most? And let's not forget you spent most of that time with us anyway, barely seeing him. It took us over a year and constant companionship with you to finally accept us as friends."

            "Maybe you guys just broke the barrier for me, made it easier for me to accept people." Kai winced at this, not really thinking it was right. Rei and Max just shared a look and stared at him. "Or not."

            "You know you like him Kai, why is it so hard to say it?" Max was studying the older boy curiously.

            Kai glared at the two of them. "There's nothing to say, now just back off." The two of them took a sudden step back at the vehement tone in his voice and Kai used the opportunity to move past them to the room where their bedrolls were kept.

            "I think we struck a nerve," Max commented.

            "Yeah," Rei agreed, staring after Kai.

*           *           *

Kai had avoided being alone with Rei and Max after that night, or made sure there was some way for him to escape them. When the time came for Wyatt's return to school he made a decision.

            "I'm going back to the school for a while," he told the Bladebreakers and Hilary when they gathered at his summons on Sunday night.

            "What?" Hilary, strangely enough, was the first to protest and question this. "Why?"

            Kai shrugged. "I'm still technically enrolled there and I'm paying for board. It's not like I'll be that far away. Besides, now that everything with the Psykics is over, we should get back to our lives. You guys will be back in school too. And it's not like we won't see each other. You guys are definitely not skipping out on training."

            "Oh, I guess that's alright." Hilary seemed a bit dejected but smiled at him anyway. "And if you're back at your school you can help your friend Wyatt out."

            "Yeah, that too." Rei shared a glance with Max, both smiling slightly seeing a faint look of embarrassment on Kai's features. He caught it and glared at them. "Rei, I'd advise you to get those thoughts out of your head. You too Max, if you both know what's good for you."

            "Yes, oh mighty captain," Rei answered sarcastically.

            Max just gave him am innocent, and almost believable look. "What thoughts would those be Kai?"

            Kai just glared at them, not caring about the confused looks from the other three. "I'll be going back early tomorrow morning and I'll see you all that afternoon at the park." They all nodded at this. "Alright. That's all I had to say then."

            Kai was suddenly surprised then as Hilary ran over to him and caught him in a hug. His eyes opened wide and Tyson snickered at him. If it had been anyone else Kai would have pushed them away, but he couldn't hurt a girl. That didn't stop him from moving back as far as he could and squirming to get out of the embrace.

            "Don't do that again," Kai told her seriously as she moved away.

            Hilary glared at him. "Jeez Kai, it was just a hug, lighten up why don't you."

            "Don't mind him Hil," Rei said in an amused voice. "He just likes to save his hugs for his special someone."

            "Rei," Kai growled menacingly once then he ignored the smirking Chinese boy. "I'm going to get some sleep considering I have classes early in the morning."

            "I should get going too," Kenny said. "Hope you enjoy going back to school Kai and I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." Kai nodded and Kenny looked over at Hilary. "You want to walk home with me Hilary?"

            "Sure. See you later Kai." She and Kenny left the rest of the Bladebreakers in Tyson's dojo.

            "So you're really leaving then," Tyson said. "I guess it's not like we won't see you again, but I kind of got used to having you around again." Tyson sniffed. "I'll miss your grumpiness in the mornings."

            Kai rolled his eyes. "It's a thirty minute walk just outside of town, I'm not moving to Russia."

            "I know, but I'll miss you just the same." Tyson yawned. "Guess you're not the only one who should hit the sack Kai. Should we get going guys?"

            "We'll be there with you in a second Tyson," Rei told him. Tyson shrugged and walked out of the room. Kai watched Rei and Max suspiciously as they watched him in return.

            "Have fun at school Kai," Max told him with a smile. "And you know we're always here if you need anything."

            Kai stared at him and shook his head. Why was everyone treating it as though he was leaving them for a year to go to some remote country where he couldn't even contact them in any way? He was moving half-an-hour's _walk away to a school they ran past every morning during their daily training regime._

            Rei seemed to understand what was going though Kai's head and grinned. "Don't worry, I think everyone will get used to you not being here fairly quickly. You've probably got more interesting things to do back at your school anyway." Rei's smirk left nothing innocent about his remark possible.

            "Rei," Kai growled warningly at him again.

            Rei laughed. "Have fun Kai and say hi to Wyatt for us all." He walked out of the room with a grinning Max close behind.

            Kai shook his head after them and followed them back to the sleeping area, for the last time he would be there with all of the others for a while. He hated to admit it, but he would miss being with his team all the time again. But Wyatt needed him more. His team could look after themselves for a while. They'd done fine without him for a while, they didn't always need him to be around and they needed to get on with their lives as well. See, his going back wasn't just about Wyatt, he was helping his team to become more independent. Of course it wasn't just about Wyatt.

*           *           *

_AN: *snicker* I love humiliating Kai, ah the many wonders of Kai torture … humorous Kai torture. Hope you all enjoyed that._

_Laters._


	3. Realisation

_Here we are again with another update … yay! Thankies for the wonderful reviews and I hope you all enjoy._

Kai walked into the classroom at the Prep school and all conversation stopped. It was no surprise, he hadn't been there for a few weeks. Luckily Mr. Dickinson had smoothed over a few administrative details and all Kai had to do was catch up on a few assessments and a fair bit of class work. Not that he couldn't handle it.

            "Hey Kai."

            Kai looked over and smiled slightly seeing Wyatt calling him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered over to him, looking slightly dishevelled, but at the same time sexily untidy in his uniform as he always had.

            "Wyatt," he greeted. "Nice to see you up and about again."

            "It's great to be out of there. Let me tell you, hospitals are no fun."

            "No kidding," Kai murmured. He took his usual seat beside the window and behind Wyatt. "So how are you feeling?"

            "Sick and tired of people asking that question."

            "Well I was never any good at small talk anyway."

            Wyatt laughed. "Really? I never noticed."

            Kai looked at him sideways with a hint of a smile. "Now you're starting to sound like you know me rather well."

            "Don't I?"

            "Actually, you're probably one of the only people besides my team who does know me rather well." Kai thought about this with a look of surprise on his face. "And it only took you two hours."

            "I'm assuming that's a good achievement."

            Kai shrugged. "You could say that."

            It was strange, but he had such an easy manner around Wyatt. Kai never felt he had to put up his defensive walls when he was around the boy, he was completely relaxed and actually enjoying having a conversation with someone. This was indeed a very rare and extremely unusual occurrence.

            The teacher arrived and cut them off from saying anything. He merely welcomed the two of them back and began with the lesson.

*           *           *

A few days passed and Kai noticed a very sharp change in himself. It wasn't immediately obvious to anyone but himself, but he'd caught Rei looking at him curiously at their last practice, then Max. Even Tyson eventually noticed the slightly more eased manner to Kai's attitude and personality.

            Frankly it was starting to scare them, and him.

            There was a knock at the door to Kai's room and he called out, "Come in," from in his bathroom. He quickly wiped his face dry and set the slightly damp towel he'd been using over his shoulders and bare chest, walking out to see who had come to see him.

            Wyatt stood there, gaping slightly as he walked out. Kai looked at him curiously, wondering what he was staring at then his cheeks flushed slightly and he grabbed a shirt from his bed. Wyatt blushed bright red and turned away a bit. "Um, I was wondering if you'd like to come see me blade today."

            Kai did up one of the buttons on his shirt. "Sure," he answered. Then he stopped and stared at Wyatt. "Wait, do you think you're ready for this yet?"

            Wyatt shrugged. "One way to find out."

            "Then I should definitely come with you." Kai grabbed his blazer and keys and followed Wyatt out of his room, locking the door behind him.

            "Um, Kai?" Wyatt asked as they stared walking.

            "Yeah?"

            "Are you going to go outside like that?"

            Kai looked down to see what Wyatt was pointing at and saw that he hadn't finished buttoning up his shirt. He quickly did up all but the top two buttons. "Thanks."

            "Don't mention it."

            The two of them continued on to the beyblade dishes set up in one of the common rooms. It seemed that Larry had told quite a few people that he and Wyatt would be battling. There was already a small crowd gathered to watch, including the two guys that Kai had seen visiting Wyatt in the hospital.

            "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Kai asked.

            Wyatt hesitated then nodded frantically. Kai could see that he really wasn't ready, but was refusing to admit it.

            "You don't have to face up to it straight away, the best way of getting back into this is to ease into it slowly."

            Wyatt shook his head. "No, I have to see if I can still blade."

            Kai sighed. "Sure, what would I know? I'm just a world champion." Wyatt grinned at his sarcasm then stepped up to the dish. Kai sighed again. "You know I'm here," he told him quietly

            "Thanks Kai."

            Kai watched with some trepidation as Wyatt faced off against Larry, one of the slightly more skilled bladers at the school. He was the only one who noticed the slight hesitation and the tremor in Wyatt's arm as he set his blade in his launcher. The look in his eyes was not good. He stared at his blade for a while, to the confusion of the others then glanced once at Kai. Then he shook his head, dropped his launcher and quickly left the common room.

            "Whoa, what's up with Wyatt?"

            "Is he all right?"

            "That accident must have really messed him up or something."

            "I thought he was healthy enough to come back."

            Kai ignored all the comments and speculations he heard behind him and followed after Wyatt, who ran towards his room. He managed to get there just after Wyatt did and quickly jumped into the room before Wyatt could lock the door on him.

            "Go away Kai."

            "No. You told me you needed me to talk to about your problems, well here I am. So talk."

            Wyatt shook his head and sunk down onto his bed. "I couldn't do it Kai," he whispered. "I just kept remembering what happened before, how I lost control and …" he shuddered and Kai quickly moved over to him and sat down, a comforting presence to the other boy.

            "No one expects you to just get over it and move on like nothing happened."

            "But what if I'm never strong enough to blade again?"

            Kai hesitated. Wyatt had just stated one of the worst fears and insecurities that Kai had himself. He looked down to see this fear incarnate in someone dear to him. He couldn't leave it alone, he had to help Wyatt. He'd promised.

            "Strength isn't everything," Kai told him seriously, "but you still can't let this fear control you. Of course going in there straight away wasn't the smartest thing to do."

            "What should I have done?" Wyatt looked up at him.

            "Taken it slowly, like I said before. You really are just as bad as Tyson aren't you?" Despite the words and tone he used, Kai smiled at Wyatt.

            Wyatt suddenly looked away. "Hey Kai?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Do you think you could just stay here for a while with me?"

            Kai's breath caught suddenly and he panicked. He had no idea what to do in this type of situation. "Sure," he mumbled, wondering what exactly was expected of him.

            Wyatt smiled at him before leaning down on Kai's shoulder. "Thanks," he said quietly, not seeing the widened eyes or hearing the sharp intake of breath. Kai hesitated then placed his arm around Wyatt, pulling the boy closer to him. Wyatt leaned into the embrace and curled up slightly, taking comfort from Kai so close to him.

            "I still have nightmares," Wyatt whispered quietly to Kai.

            "Do you want to tell me about them?" He felt Wyatt shake his head. "Okay."

            There was a while before either of them spoke again.

            "Hey Kai?"

            "Yeah."

            "Thanks again for this. I really appreciate your help."

            Kai shrugged, getting a bit embarrassed. "You're a friend," he murmured. Wyatt seemed to accept this response and drew closer. But Kai sat pondering his answer to the boy. If this was Rei, or Max, or Tyson, or Kenny, would he really have done this much for them? And if Wyatt was just a friend, then why were his emotions concerning the boy so much stronger than the ones involving his other friends?

*           *           *

Kai winced as he shifted slightly and light shone down upon him. He opened his eyes groggily and had to blink a few times before he got control of his thoughts and managed to realise where he was.

            When he did his heart almost stopped.

            He'd fallen asleep with Wyatt in his room. He'd fallen asleep with his arms around Wyatt in Wyatt's locked room. Looking from an outsider's perspective, things did not look all that great for Kai.

            He quickly sat up and moved away a bit, causing Wyatt to stir beside him. The brunette slowly opened his eyes and yawned then looked up at Kai and looked startled for a moment before he smiled gratefully, remembering the night before.

            "Thanks Kai," Wyatt said quietly.

            Kai shook his head. "No problem." He looked a bit nervous and fidgety to Wyatt. Kai glanced over at him quickly then looked away with a slight blush to his cheeks. Wyatt nodded, understanding that Kai was a bit embarrassed by the whole unusual situation.

            "Don't worry," Wyatt told him, "I know that you're not usually like this, you don't get close to too many people, so I really appreciate that you would help me out like this."

            Kai shook his head again and a soft smile came to his face. "It's fine, like I said, you're a good friend."

            "Thanks."

            Kai struggled to stay in control of his thoughts as Wyatt suddenly smiled at him. _Yeah, he commented dryly to himself, __a good friend that I'm suddenly starting to get weird thoughts about. Kai couldn't take his eyes off the tousle-haired boy. Wyatt looked so innocent and happy, all because of him, his heart swelled and he wanted nothing more than to reach over and kiss him softly._

            _Oh no._

            Kai moved back further, looking slightly unnerved. Wyatt looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

            "I uh, forgot to tell the guys I wasn't at practice yesterday. They'll be worried."

            "But didn't you practice in the morning with them? It was Saturday yesterday."

            "I was supposed to meet with them again in the afternoon." Kai looked apologetically at him. "I should go call them, I don't think I'll go to training today either."

            "Why not?"

            Kai flushed again and fumbled for words while Wyatt stared curiously at him. "Well, I, uh, I just thought that maybe you might, uh, maybe need me to be here, if you wanted."

            Wyatt grinned. "You don't have to do that Kai."

            "But I want to," Kai said quickly then he blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "I mean I … I want to make sure you're alright."

            "Thanks Kai. Well, I suppose if you're that insistent about it, you can stay. I'd really like the company, but I don't want you to go the whole weekend without seeing your team. Why don't you go over in the afternoon still? Like you were planning to yesterday?"

            "Do you want to come with me?"

            Wyatt laughed. "You know, I never would have picked you as the over-protective type. I can take care of myself for an afternoon."

            "But I want you to meet them," Kai quickly said, trying to cover up his real motives. "A proper introduction, you didn't get to before."

            Wyatt studied him closely. "All right," he said slowly. "I'd love to."

            Kai smiled at him. "Great." Then he suddenly realised how strange he had been acting and drew back a bit. "Uh well, I should go call or something," he muttered, moving away from Wyatt and towards the door. Wyatt nodded and continued to stare after him even as the door closed.

            "He gets more confusing with every day," Wyatt commented with a shake of his head and a smile.

*           *           *

_AN: Oh fun, making Kai feel … feelings for Wyatt. I know he seems a bit soppy in this chapter, but hey, it's Wyatt. And we had an early morning wake-up scene, one of my faves._

_Hope you all liked that, until next time._


	4. Getting Started

_He he, this is getting fun. Hope you all enjoy this._

Kai paced back and forth in his room, waiting impatiently for Tyson, or someone to pick up the phone on the other end.

            Finally someone did.

            "Do you realise what time it is?"

            Kai glared at the phone, wishing that Tyson was there in person so he could berate him properly, but he didn't have time.

            "What are you doing still sleeping?"

            "Kai?"

            "Where's Rei, or Max?"

            "Rei's in the shower and Max is watching cartoons."

            "Get Max for me."

            "Why?"

            "Just do it Tyson," Kai growled. He could hear Tyson muttering on the other end and occasionally he caught words that made him raise his eyebrow, but he said nothing to Tyson.

            Tyson came back on the line. "He says he's busy."

            "Tell him that it's urgent."

            "He still won't come."

            Kai sighed. "Fine, tell him … that he and Rei were right and I'd like a word with him. Exactly those words." Tyson paused then Kai herd a few mumbled words, his voice muted slightly as Tyson held his hand over the mouthpiece. Suddenly Kai heard the sounds of running before Max got on the phone.

            "I knew it! We were right!"

            Kai held the phone as far away from his ear as possible. "I still need my ears for hearing Max, tone it down a bit." Kai growled, this was not the way he'd wanted to start this conversation off.

            He could almost see Max's grin. "So you're finally admitting that you like him."

            "Considering everything today, yeah." Kai sighed. "Max, I will only say this once, I need some help."

            "What?" He heard a loud thump after the strangled whisper and there was a long silence, in which Kai stared curiously at the phone. "Y-you're actually asking me for help?" Max finally asked in a choked whisper.

            Kai glared. "If you're going to be like that then put Rei on the phone."

            "He's still in the shower."

            "I can wait."

            Max 'humphed'. "You know I'm just as good as Rei is with this sort of thing."

            "Then give me your advice." Kai waited for a while with a smirk on his face. Max grumbled something about getting Rei and muttered darkly under his breath.

            Kai waited for a while and grabbed a few things from around his room, fresh clothes and such for the day. He was about to get changed when he heard Rei's voice.

            "Kai?"

            "Still here."

            "Wow, must be really important." He heard a snicker on the other end. "So, Maxie told me that you've admitted your love."

            "Don't rub it in, I need advice."

            "Wow, that serious?"

            "Rei, I've never done this before, I've never been this close to anyone before not to mention I've never had some of these thoughts before, now will you help me? I'm slowly being driven insane, which you can probably tell because I would never have said anything like that to you before."

            Rei didn't say anything for a while.

            "Wow, it is serious."

            "Rei!"

            "Okay, no yelling, I'll help. I'm assuming you won't be here for practice."

            "Morning practice anyway. I've invited Wyatt to join us for the afternoon." Kai calmed down a bit and regained his composure. "Okay Rei, do your stuff."

            "Not that easy."

            "What do you mean?"

            "Well, first I need to know how deeply you feel for him."

            Kai sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I cannot believe I am having this sort of conversation," he muttered. "How serious do you think it is Rei?"

            Rei paused. "Ah, right, yes, of course. Honestly Kai all I can say to you is just try and go with things, see if he may return the feelings."

            Kai stopped his pacing. "That's it?"

            "Yeah."

            "I knew that already! You're no help." Angrily Kai hung up and threw his phone down on the bed. He glared at it for a moment then sighed and got changed, heading into the bathroom to wash his face properly. He heard the phone ring again as he was about to turn the water on.

            "What?" he growled as he picked up.

            "Just because you're having problems doesn't mean you can take it out on me!"

            Kai sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry Rei." There was a long pause and Kai frowned. "Rei?"

            "We have to get you to the hospital."

            "What?"

            "You're obviously not feeling very well considering you just apologised to me."

            Kai glared at the phone, once again wishing he was there in person. "Rei, it is not advisable to annoy me while I'm in such a tense mood."

            There was another pause though shorter this time. "Yeah, I picked up on that."

            "Good, now do you have anything useful to tell me?"

            "Not really I guess."

            "Then I'll see you this afternoon."

            Rei sighed. "Fine, we'll be expecting you. See you then."

            "Yeah." Kai hung up and put the phone back where it was supposed to go rather than throwing it around this time. He sighed and walked back into the bathroom. _Today's going to be really long._

*           *           *

Kai could hear the familiar sounds of Tyson and Hilary arguing as he made his way through the main dojo entrance.

            Wyatt looked a bit anxious and looked to the side to see Kai not affected. "Does that normally happen?" he asked curiously, referring to the sounds of the argument.

            Kai didn't blink as there was the sound of something large falling into the pond. "Every day."

            The two of them turned the corner and saw the typical scene before them. Well it was typical for the Bladebreakers. Kenny was shaking his head and moaning, "Why me?" while Max was rolling on the ground, laughing and clutching at his stomach. Rei was trying to look composed, but failing badly, a few snickers escaping from behind his hand. Hilary was standing at the edge of the small pond, looking very annoyed and Tyson ... was in his usual spot after an argument with Hilary, dripping wet in the middle of the pond, looking quite sour, a dark scowl upon his face.

            "Looks like I didn't miss anything important," Kai commented dryly. Everyone turned to him.

            "Well, look who decided to show up today," Tyson said as he climbed out of the pond, still annoyed and quite drenched. He sneezed and glared at Hilary then turned back to Kai. "So where have you been for the past day?"

            Wyatt grinned. "Sorry my fault, Kai was helping me out."

            Tyson looked startled, it appeared he hadn't noticed Wyatt standing there. "Oh, hey."

            "Time for formal introductions then," Kai said. He gestured Wyatt to move forward. "Wyatt, you should know, this is Tyson, Max, Rei and Kenny." Wyatt shook hands with all of the Bladebreakers. "Guys, this is Wyatt, you didn't get to meet properly due to ... well you know the circumstances."

            Wyatt smiled gratefully at Kai and he cleared his throat uncomfortably at the action. Kai noticed that Max and Rei shared a look and he glared at them before turning to Hilary. "Wyatt, this is Hilary, a friend of Tyson and Kenny's, and our new team manager."

            "Who says I'm friends with Tyson?" she muttered before turning a bright smile to Wyatt. "Hi, glad to finally meet you. Kai's mentioned you heaps."

            "Really?" Wyatt looked over at Kai in surprise. "I didn't think I made that big an impression."

            "Oh, you did," Max assured him. Rei snickered then quickly swallowed his laughter, looking stoic as Kai glanced his way. No one else seemed to get what was going on between the three of them.

            "Training, now," Kai ordered.

            "Can I get changed first, and maybe grab something to eat?" Tyson asked. Kai glared at him and he glowered. "Fine, can I at least get changed?"

            "Sure. Hilary, what's on the schedule for today?"

            Hilary stuck out her tongue at Tyson as he passed then turned back to Kai. "Just the same. Kenny's been working on Dragoon and Drigger a bit, so we'll mostly have to work with Tyson and Rei. You and Max can start of practice if you want."

            Kai nodded and turned back to Wyatt. "Join in at any time if you feel you want to."

            Wyatt smiled and shook his head. "I'll just watch if it's all right with you."

            Kai nodded. "Sure. Ready to go Maxie?" He faced Max with a smirk and Max gulped.

            "You're going to make me pay for my comments aren't you Kai?"

            "Did you really believe I wouldn't?"

            Max sighed and set his blade in his launcher. "Don't hurt me too much," he begged.

            Kai just smirked again, waiting for Kenny to begin the count down.

*           *           *

Wyatt snickered as he looked at the Bladebreakers all slumped and lying on the grass and shared a grin with Kai. "You're the cruellest bastard I've ever met."

            Kai grinned at the comment. "I know." He nudged Tyson with his foot. "Come on Tyson, I think Kenny and Hilary have made us dinner." At those words Tyson jumped up with a grin and ran inside. Wyatt stared at Tyson's amazing recovery and shook his head, looking back at Kai as he moved over to Rei and Max, who looked even more haggard than Tyson. Kai had worked the two of them hard, which surprised Wyatt somewhat.

            "I hate you," Max moaned as he saw Kai standing at his head. Kai raised an eyebrow at the strange words coming from Max's mouth but smirked.

            "I know, but you can rest now, go inside and wash up or something."

            "Whatever." Max raised himself up onto his elbows and looked over at Rei. "You know, I'm not sure if that will get him up."

            "I'll get him up," Kai assured him with a glint in his eye.

            Max paled and basically ran inside, not wanting to stay with Kai if he looked like that. Rei looked to be asleep. When Kai nudged him and called out his name, he didn't even stir. He shrugged and moved over to the pond, picking up the bucket that sat on the ground nearby, filling it with water and carrying it over with a grin. Wyatt covered his mouth with his hand in shock just as Kai upended the bucket.

            Inside Hilary almost knocked over the pot of noodles she was draining as there was a loud indignant yell of "KAI!!!!" coming from outside. What was really surprising was that it sounded like Rei. Rei never shouted like that, least of all at Kai.

            Wyatt ran inside, trying his hardest not to laugh. The four in the kitchen looked at him curiously, and he was about to tell them what happened, then he started laughing even more, holding onto the doorframe.

            Suddenly Rei appeared, his hair limp and dripping, his face damp and red from fury. He looked like a drowned cat. Rei hated getting wet unnecessarily, and he looked quite strange with his hair wet and plastered to his face like that. Max and Tyson stared at him in shock while Hilary promptly dropped the drainer in the sink and Kenny almost dropped the plate of chicken he was carrying to the table.

            "What happened?" Tyson finally asked. Rei just looked behind him and glared. Tyson stared wide-eyed and whispered disbelievingly, "Kai?"

            "Thank you for the idea Hilary," Kai said conversationally, making his way to the kitchen, stepping over Wyatt who was sitting on the floor still laughing and holding onto the doorframe.

            Hilary grinned. "No problem Kai, sometimes these guys just need a bit of a wake up call."

            "Very true," Kai said, glancing at Rei who glared back and stuck his tongue out, looking rather immature before he muttered something about drying up.

            Hilary and Kenny finished putting dinner out and when Rei came back, still looking darkly at Kai, they began eating. Just another typical day with the Bladebreakers.

*           *           *

_AN: Ah, I would feel sorry for Rei and Max, but they probably had it coming. He he. Hope you all enjoyed that._

_Until next time._


	5. Falling Down

_Okay, considering you all asked so nicely, I'm updating this quicker than I have most other fics. Hope you all enjoy this chapter too. Oh and I apologise in advance for the maths, I just like Kai being a smart ass. (but then his ass any way is nice ^_~)_

Kai sighed, looking out the window, not really paying attention in class. It was just maths after all.

            What was he going to do about Wyatt? He was finding it difficult to be around him at times and he thought Wyatt was picking up on his discomfort, he looked a bit down when Kai talked to him. But he'd never had to deal with something like this before, retreating and working things out on his own was how he dealt with everything else. But it didn't seem to be working quite as well with this problem.

            Kai winced at the word. Problem. It wasn't really a problem, and he hated to use the word, it made his feelings for Wyatt sound like a burden. He loved spending time with the cheerful boy. Unlike the others, he seemed to respect Kai's need for privacy and quiet at times. Sometimes Kai found himself getting so used to the boy's presence he wouldn't even realise he was there until he looked around. Not to mention when he was around Wyatt he seemed to enjoy himself and he found himself smiling a bit more and opening up. It was nice, too nice. Hence the reason for his discomfort. He wasn't quite used to this yet so he drew back a bit. It seemed to hurt Wyatt and seeing the sad look upon the bright face hurt him in turn. He had to figure things out before he did something he'd regret.

            "Kai?" He glanced over to see the teacher glaring at him. "Could you answer the question?"

            Kai didn't even glance at the board as he coolly said, "Fifty-two."

            The teacher frowned. "If you were paying attention could you also tell me the question and your working out of the answer?"

            Kai sighed and recited, "A rhombus has diagonals of twenty-six and ten. What is the perimeter of the shape?" Kai just rolled his eyes and the teacher narrowed his angrily. "First off rhombus diagonals bisect at ninety degrees, making this a simple Pythagorean question working out one side and multiplying by four. The sides therefore are thirteen each considering the triangular base and height are twelve and five, making the perimeter fifty-two." Kai looked up at the teacher with a raised eyebrow. "Anything else?"

            "Don't stare out the window if you're bored, do your work."

            "Done."

            The teacher frowned and looked at his book, the frown deepening as he showed his completed work. Kai smirked as he turned away and walked back  to the front of the class to finish teaching. He was quite aware of the rest of the class looking at him in shock. Who would have thought that the antagonistic rebel Kai Hiwatari would actually be smart?

            As the class walked out, Wyatt caught Kai by the arm and dragged him into a small crevice, waiting for everyone else to pass by. "That was really stupid Kai, antagonising a teacher. You're just lucky you were able to do the question, else you would have found yourself in detention for sure."

            "Not the first time," Kai informed him coldly, shrugging his arm away and walking off. He didn't mean to be cold, but the maths class really irritated him. Why couldn't the teachers just leave him alone?

            Wyatt sighed and followed him, not saying anything. But, like Kai, he was able to make silence say more than words ever could.

            Kai looked at him and sighed. "I'm sorry, okay, I won't do it any more."

            "That's nice."

            Kai sighed again. "What is it?"

            "What's what? Nothing's wrong."

            "Yes it is, I know something's up."

            Wyatt shrugged and looked at him innocently. "I really don't know what you're talking about Kai."

            Kai sighed in defeat. "Sure." They continued to walk towards the dorms in an oppressive silence. Kai walked with Wyatt to his room, desperately trying to find something to say.

            Just as Wyatt was about to go inside, he blurted out, "Do you want to train with me?"

            Wyatt stared at him. "Yeah, I guess. At Tyson's place again?"

            Kai shook his head. "It'll just be us … me and you. Tyson, Kenny and Hilary are on some school trip, Rei's staying with Max and they figured we needed a bit of a break as well. But considering I haven't trained as much as they have, I thought I should do some."

            "You want me to train with you?" Wyatt looked at him disbelievingly.

            Kai nodded. "Well, more like I'll be training with you, if you want to that is."

            Wyatt hesitated, knowing what Kai was getting at. Finally he nodded. "That would be great, thanks."

            Kai smiled at him. "Good. I'll see you in an hour in the gardens okay?"

            Wyatt nodded. "Sure, see you then." He went inside his dorm leaving Kai in the hallway, looking rather relieved, a faint smile playing about his lips.

            "One step at a time, just like everything else," he whispered to himself as he walked back to his room.

*           *           *

Wyatt looked around nervously, waiting for Kai. He was a bit late. Or maybe his watch was just fast. He looked down at his watch then grimaced. Or not.

            Suddenly he heard someone approaching. He looked up to see Kai running towards him.

            "Sorry, Rei called for something."

            "No problem." Wyatt grinned at him, looking somewhat apprehensive. "Do you want to get started now then?" His tone clearly said that the idea really didn't appeal to him that much.

            Kai studied him closely and nodded. "That would be the idea," he answered with a grin, trying to ease his anxiousness. It didn't seem to be working very well. Kai sighed. "Okay let's just start then."

            Wyatt nodded and pulled his blade from his pocket, his hand shaking a bit. Kai noticed this and grabbed a hold of Wyatt's hand before he could raise the blade and launcher. "Why don't you use Dranzer?" He held out his blue blade and launcher, to Wyatt's immense surprise.

            "Are you serious?"

            "Perfectly." Kai placed the launcher in Wyatt's hand and smiled reassuringly. "She won't intimidate you, in fact knowing I gave her over willingly with the expectation that she'll be returned, she'll trust you. If she trusts Tyson, she'll definitely trust you."

            Wyatt chuckled softly. "You really trust me then? You must if you'd give me Dranzer to train with."

            "I do."

            It was those simple words more than anything that gave Wyatt the confidence to set up the blade and bring his hands up to launch. He paled and took a deep breath, shaking slightly, but trying to look determined. Just as he was about to let the blade fall to his side, he felt warm hands grasp his own. He looked around in surprise to see Kai holding him close, looking stern, but kind.

            "You have to have faith that you can do this. I do."

            Wyatt nodded and smiled. Kai's hands did not leave his, instead staying and giving him comfort and strength.

            Taking another deep breath, Wyatt concentrated and pulled on the rip-cord, sending Dranzer flying to the ground in a strong launch. Wyatt grinned seeing this and turned slightly.

            Kai smiled seeing the look upon Wyatt's face. "See? Faith."

            "Yeah." Wyatt looked bashful. "Thanks Kai."

            Kai nodded, staring at him more. His smile slipped slightly as a thought flitted across his mind. _He looks so cute like this, and I'm close enough to kiss him._

            Wyatt sensed the sudden change in Kai's emotions and looked at him quizzically. "Kai?"

            Kai smiled at him again, though hesitantly and slightly false. "You did well. Do you think you could do it on your own?"

            Wyatt swallowed but nodded. "I'll try."

            Kai removed his hands, sliding them up Wyatt's arms to rest on his shoulders. Wyatt shivered slightly at the slight touch, not daring to look around at Kai. He instead focused on the blade that had returned to him and set it in the launcher. He hesitated again, but the reassuring touch on his shoulders was all he needed and he launched.

            Dranzer spun faster and with more force than his last launch. Seeing this, Wyatt grinned and turned around. "Did you see that Kai! How cool!" Without warning he grabbed the other boy in a tight embrace. Kai's eyes widened but he smiled and drew Wyatt closer, returning the embrace.

            "Yeah, I'm proud of you. It takes a lot to overcome your fears and you've already come such a long way."

            Wyatt drew back and smiled up at him. "Thanks to you. I don't think I'm quite that ready to blade yet and I know I'll even be hesitant to pick up a blade, but now I won't be totally afraid. Maybe soon I'll be able to blade again, because of you."

            "I didn't really do much, I just …" Kai trailed off as he once again noticed the extremely close proximity between the two of them.

            Wyatt didn't seem to realise the reason for his silence. "No, you're wrong, you helped a lot."

            Kai nodded, not trusting himself to say much. He pulled away and somehow managed not to wince as he saw the confusion and hurt crossing Wyatt's face as he did so.

            "Is something wrong?"

            Kai shook his head and cleared his throat. "No … I …" He stared at Wyatt, suddenly fearful, he took another step back. It was too much to deal with right now. He shook his head and muttered, "I'm sorry," before dashing away.

            Wyatt stared after him, looking close to tears. He heard the sound of Dranzer hitting the ground behind him and he turned back, retrieving the blade. He stared at it clutched in his hand.

            "I still don't understand you, and you're still as confusing as ever, but it never hurt until now Kai." Wyatt turned away and headed back to his room.

*           *           *

_AN: Oh, I know, slight angst, but I promise things get better. Next chapter will be the last however. This was only meant to be a short fic, originally a one-shot. Now it's kind of late so I apologise for any small mistakes and stuff._

_Hmm, 4 am, quite a way to end the last day of official schooling._

_Laters._


	6. Ending Things

_Seeing as I had this here anyway, I figured you might like it. ^_^ Enjoy the last instalment to my little fic._

"Why are we here again?" Max asked, sending a slight glare in Rei's direction.

            "Because I can't trust Kai not to screw this up." Rei was thinking back on the conversation he'd just had with Kai. He seemed nervous and somewhat elated about something, mentioning that he and Wyatt would be training alone for a while. Rei had immediately grabbed Max as soon as Kai told him and the two of them practically ran to his school, managing to get there in just fifteen minutes.

            "You know, I think this is trespassing," Max whispered to Rei as they dropped over the wall into the main school grounds.

            "Don't worry, we won't be found out."

            "We better not be." Max stopped suddenly and pulled Rei down behind some bushes. "They're over there."

            "Really?" Rei poked his head over the bushes and gaped. "Can you believe what he's doing?"

            Max shook his head. "I don't think I've ever seen Kai that close to anyone before." They had arrived to see the tableau of Kai holding Wyatt closely to him and helping him blade.

            Rei grinned. "He really does like him a lot."

            "Yeah."

            The two of them continued to watch, right up until Wyatt embraced Kai. They grinned at each other, but their smiles faded as they saw Kai run off and Wyatt walk dejectedly back to his room. They shared a look.

            "What just happened?" Max asked.

            "I don't know, but I'm going to go talk to Kai. He'd better have a good explanation for it. I'll meet you back at your place, okay?" Max nodded and headed back to the wall where they'd come over. Rei watched him leave then ran after Kai.

            Kai turned as he heard someone coming after him. He thought it was Wyatt but was surprised when he saw Rei, and even more surprised when he saw the look on Rei's face.

            "What happened?"

            Kai's eyes widened and he was too shocked to speak for a moment. "You were watching?"

            "Of course, I know you Kai; I knew you would manage to do something to push him away." Rei looked pained. "Why do you do that?"

            Kai glared. "This isn't your concern Rei."

            "Tough. You hurt him a lot by pulling away like that. Why can't you just accept him?"

            "Because it's hard Rei!" Kai burst out. "I've never felt this strongly about anyone ... _anything Rei, not even my blading. It scares me." Kai saw the understanding in Rei's eyes and sighed. "I want to be near him so much it's overwhelming. I'm not used to this."_

            Rei searched for something to say, but found nothing that he felt would really help. "Look," he finally said, "you can't run from this, you're going to have to do something and the only way that I know could possibly help is just to tell him, or you'll end up ruining everything with him. He likes you Kai and you're already hurting him by running away from him."

            Kai nodded. "I guess." He smiled slightly. "You're such a pain in the ass, being on my case like this you know Rei, but thanks anyway."

            "You're welcome," Rei grinned and he slung his arm quickly around Kai's shoulder and gave him a reassuring hug. "Good luck with this Kai." Then he pulled away and walked off.

            Kai shook his head at his friend's actions. Rei must really want him to work this whole situation out. He was a good friend, if somewhat annoying.

            "Guess his advice makes sense though. I'll go find Wyatt."

*           *           *

Wyatt opened his door after the second knock, wondering who would be coming to see him so late at night.

            Kai stood in the doorway. Wyatt hesitated slightly then said. "Hey Kai, do you want to come in?" Kai nodded and walked into his room, noticing with some guilt the slightly tearstained cheeks and vaguely red eyes.

            "Are you all right?" Kai asked hesitantly.

            Wyatt smiled then nodded. "Yeah, I guess." He studied Kai carefully. "Are you though? The way you ran off, I'm wondering if I did something wrong. Or did you suddenly remember a pressing appointment?"

            Kai flinched at his tone. "Wyatt, I'm sorry about everything, I never meant to hurt you or anything. I just …" he looked away.

            "You know, I don't get you Kai," Wyatt said after they had been silent for so long. "Sometimes you seem so cold and distant, yet at the same time I get the feeling you want nothing more than to sit down and talk or go blade with your friends. And other times you seem so open, smiling and laughing, but you're hiding something. I thought you were a friend, you said I was and that you could trust me with anything."

            "I do Wyatt, there's just … something I'm having trouble dealing with."

            "Maybe I can help you with it," he offered.

            Kai winced at his generosity. Wyatt was a sweet kid, always wanting to help him, be near him, expecting nothing from him, not even friendship if Kai didn't want to give it, but in return he gave so much to Kai. He was deeply hurt by Kai's sudden distance from him again and wanted to help him out, because he seemed to hurt when Kai was hurt.

            "I wish you could, but it's something very personal," Kai told him. He sighed and saw the tears forming in Wyatt's eyes.

            "Why do you keep running away Kai?"

            Kai turned away. "I have to."

            "No you don't, I won't do anything to hurt you."

            "I'm still scared."

            "Of what?"

            "Myself."

            Wyatt stared at him and barely heard the whispered admission. "What are you so afraid of?"

            "My feelings."

            "Why?"

            "I don't think I can hide them any more if I'm around you too much."

            "You shouldn't want to hide them, I won't hurt you, I don't want to be anything more than to be your friend."

            "That's just it," Kai burst out suddenly. "I don't want that, and I'm afraid you'll leave once you find out how much I'm attracted to you!" Kai paled suddenly and his eyes widened as he realised what he'd blurted out unintentionally. He shook his head and ran for the door, throwing it open and running out into the corridor.

            Despite his churning shocked emotions, Wyatt started to run after him then stopped halfway down the hallway. Kai needed time to deal with this and he did too. He walked slowly back to his room and closed the door behind him. He sat down on his bed and looked over at the table beside him.

            "I still have his Dranzer."

*           *           *

Kai paced back and forth in his room, berating himself for a fool for running from him again. But after that admission, he was too scared to do anything else.

            Yes, he admitted it, he, Kai Hiwatari was scared. Why shouldn't he be? After never having to deal with anything like this, it was all thrust upon him so suddenly it made his head reel. Emotions weren't weaknesses, or distractions they were confusing, intricate intense puzzles and he had no idea how to deal with his.

            Kai flung himself on his bed and debated calling Rei or Max for help, but it was late and they probably wouldn't appreciate such a call when they were trying to sleep. Not to mention he wanted to work things out for himself this time. It wasn't fair on Wyatt or himself if he didn't put effort into solving his situation.

            He couldn't do it without rest though, so Kai decided to get some sleep, fitful and restless though it was.

            At around seven in the morning he heard a knock on the door and looked over. He looked terrible. Calling out, "I'll be there in a moment," Kai quickly dashed to his bathroom and washed his face and combed his fingers through his hair. It didn't make much difference but it was some. Still in his rumpled clothes from last night, Kai opened his door and stared.

            Wyatt was there looking very determined.

            Kai looked away as he invited Wyatt in. He could feel Wyatt's curious stare on him, but he refused to meet his gaze.

            "What brings you here?" he finally asked after a long silence.

            Wyatt held out his hand and deposited Dranzer onto Kai's bed. "You left Dranzer with me yesterday; I thought I should bring it back."

            "Thanks," Kai mumbled, still not looking directly at Wyatt. He moved over to pick up Dranzer and Wyatt grabbed a hold of his arm. Kai looked over and swallowed as their gazes met.

            "You're avoiding me," Wyatt said with a hurt tone evident in his voice. Kai didn't answer straight away, which only further proved the truth of Wyatt's comment. "Why?"

            "I … I didn't think you would want to see me again."

            "Why not?"

            Kai frowned. "After yesterday, why would you?"

            "You really don't know me very well do you Kai." Wyatt shook his head. "You say I know you, and I might, but do you know all that much about me? You say you like me, yet you run, thinking I would despise you for that, you keep closing yourself off thinking that your thoughts and perceptions of me are the right ones, but they may not be." He smiled. "I'm here, aren't I? I don't hate you, far from it in fact."

            Kai stared at him, seeing something he'd always missed. He had been selfish in his thoughts of Wyatt, and rather arrogant too, he hadn't really gotten to know Wyatt or his thoughts about their friendship. He hadn't really been much of a friend to Wyatt, and friendship was a two-way bond.

            "What exactly is it that you want from me?" Kai asked. "Why do you want to be with me?"

            Wyatt smiled. "I like you, isn't that reason enough?"

            Kai nodded. "Of course. Thank you and I'm sorry for being such a jerk."

            "You were just confused, but that's okay, we all get confused sometimes." Wyatt bit his lip in thought, staring at Kai shyly. "There is one thing I'm curious about though."

            Kai gulped and nodded. "Yeah?"

            "What you said last night, was it true?"

            Kai hesitated then nodded. "Yes, it was. I really do like you Wyatt, I just wasn't sure how to deal with that, so I did what I always had and pushed you away."

            Wyatt nodded, processing this while Kai watched him nervously. "I think I like you too Kai," he finally said, much to Kai's astonishment. He grinned. "I mean, it's not every day that you can say Kai Hiwatari likes you, you'd have to be a fool to pass up the opportunity. But I do like you, I've always admired you and I've been slightly infatuated ever since I met you."

            Kai laughed. "Yeah, I noticed that." Seeing Wyatt's grin he felt suddenly relieved about everything. "So you like me too huh?" Wyatt nodded. "Then you won't mind if I do this?" Kai leaned forward, hesitating slightly until he saw the anticipation in Wyatt's eyes, then he pressed his lips to Wyatt's.

            He could feel Wyatt's slight hesitation before he pressed back gently, making the kiss last longer before he pulled away, his cheeks slightly flushed from the actions.

            Kai waited nervously while Wyatt stared at him.

            "Okay," Wyatt said slowly. "Now I really, really, _really_ like you." Kai laughed at this and Wyatt grinned at him, pulling him down to sit on the bed beside him, never releasing his hand from its grip on Kai's wrist.

            "That's good," Kai gently brushed his free hand over Wyatt's cheek, gently holding his chin and smiling as he saw Wyatt's slight blush.

            "Is it?"

            "Most definitely." Kai leaned in for another kiss, knowing that things would be just perfect for them from now on.

_AN: Ah, kawaii! I love ending my romance fics like that. I hope you all enjoyed that, cause I know I did._

_Well, until my next endeavour,_

_Laters,_


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